


Dawnguard: Retold

by SaucyBeats



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Decided the Dovahkiin needs to be op compared to everyone else until the DLC, F/F, I want the Volkihars to be a threat, My first real attempt at a long story, just got bored
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-10 03:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18930457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaucyBeats/pseuds/SaucyBeats
Summary: Casara, the High Elf Dragonborn, believed that she had done all that could be done in the province of Skyrim. She ended the Civil War, leads all guilds (in honorary positions, naturally), made Skyrim the nigh-impregnable stronghold of the growing movement against the Aldmeri Dominion, and even stopped the dragons from returning and bringing the end times. Now, with her love in her arms and her coffers fit to burst, it's time for our hero to rest and relax in the lap of luxary.However, for legendary heros, we all know there are no happy endings.





	1. Thank You

This first chapter is dedicated to everyone who reads this story. I know I don't have much now, but my plan is to update late at night and/or early in the morning with everything I have done regardless of length after I complete the first chapter of the story. Also, I am using my phone to post this, so if anything looks odd, just leave a comment, and I'll see what I can do.

 

 

* * *

 

Anything I add mid-chapter will be under one of these lines, so you don't have to reread the entire chapter to find what's new.

 

* * *

 

 

Also, I can feel myself picking up steam, so be prepared.

 

 

 

Until next time,

Arrivederchi.


	2. Unbound

"Oh, you're finally awake. You were caught crossing the border, same as us, and that horse thief over there."

 

 _Huh? A border? Where- ah,_ She remembered now. A war was brewing in Skyrim, something that wasn't exactly common knowledge everywhere else. The Aldmeri Dominion must've kept the war a secret throughout the rest of Tamriel by closing the border to people as well as any mail that seemed to even slightly hint at the war. Casara was trying to sneak in because the lack of news past the death of Toryyg meant that the country was as resistant to internal turmoil as the natives were to cold. The perfect place to settle down and try to make a living off the land. But, as with all plans, it fell apart the moment it hit a snag. And by "snag", she meant a sneaky spellcaster and their entourage of solders.

 

As she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to fight the headache that was forming, she felt that her hands were bound.  _Great, of course they're using Magicka draining restraints on me. After all, the last thing you want an Altmer to do is use magic._ She wasn't really surprised, all things considered. She was great at everything she tried- including the arcane arts. She was told that the only person with as much potential for this as her was the Hero of Kvatch, during the Oblivion Crisis. After just 2 years, she was already on her way to being a Master Wizard, but found it boring. Unfortunately, the only difference between that and the other guilds was how quick she rose through the ranks and, subsequently, got bored. She even just walked out on the Dark Brotherhood, and even they recognized how useless it was to try and fight her. And yet here she was, brought down by a lowly paralysis spell from a caster she never saw, and a bash from some officer's shield while she was stuck. And now, she was being carted off to gods know where, to be most likely thrown in prison.

 

"Damn you Stormcloaks". Casara said, interrupting whatever the horse thief was panicking about. "If I had known there was a civil war happening, I would've went down to Hammerfell or the Isles. I wanted a quiet life. Or at the very least, a life where the only excitement was hunting for food. But noooooo." Casara said, getting worked up. "You all can't settle things like civilized folks, can you?! You just have to go and-"

 

"QUIET DOWN BACK THERE!" Called the carriage driver.

 

The Stormcloak wearing armor looked at her sadly. "Look, Elf.  High King Ulfric here challenged the previous High King to fair combat, and he accepted. It was not only legal, it was an affair that the Empire and your Thalmor had no place in. We wanted a king, while you and yours wanted a puppet." 

 

Casara was troubled by this. _F_ _air combat? A puppet?_ "Look,  I had no idea that was the case. No news goes out about Skyrim. All I knew was that Toryyg died, and that his wife was taking his place. I didn't know the facts." She bowed her head. "I am truly sorry for insulting you." She looks up. "I'm Casara of Anvil. And you are...?"

 

"Ralof. The horse thief over there is Lokir, and here is the true High King, Ulfric Stormcloak."

 

But before she could respond, she was being led off of the cart, and being lined up in front of the headsman's block. But before she could think of a way out, she saw that Lokir was trying to escape up the path ahead. He made it a good distance before an arrow lodged into his back. "Anyone else feel like running?" asked the captain, with something in her voice that took Casara a moment to decipher. But her stomach fell as she realized what it was.

 

 _It is glee. This bitch was glad to give the order to kill Lokir. How did she become a captain in the Imperial army?_ But her thoughts were stopped as a young Imperial touched her shoulder. "I'm truly sorry that I can't save you. I'll at least make sure your body is sent to High Rock."

 

"HADVAR! Stop talking with the prisoner! She goes to the block next!" The captain yelled.

 

Feeling sorry for the boy, she gave him a smile. "Actually, I'm from Cyrodiil. Can you send my body to the Mages Guild instead? Tell them it's Casara."

 

Feeling a sword on her back, she wordlessly walked up to the block. Her mind was blank. She was going to die. But as the headsman's axe was raised, she saw a black shape fall over the world, and her ears were assaulted by a devastating sound, one which will haunt her dreams for ages to come.

 

 

" _ **FUS RO DAH"**_

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Her body felt light, as though she were floating, and around her were images of people doing many of the legendary feats that enraptured her as a child. To her left, she saw the defeat of Jager Tharn and the underking creating his magicka-free area around his resting place using the Mantella. To her right, she sees the defeat of Dagoth Ur and the destruction of the Oblivion gates, and countless other adventurers filling her vision wherever she looked. However, each of them looked eerily familiar. Almost as if-

 

 

 

" **YOUR MIND DOES NOT FAIL YOU** **, MY HERO. YOU HAVE BEEN MY CHAMPION FOR AEONS UNTOLD. THIS HARDSHIP IS JUST ONE OF MANY I HAVE USE FOR YOU IN."** The voice, though deep and powerful and unknown to her, felt like that of Akatosh.

 

"But why? Why keep using me?" Her voice sounded meek and powerless in comparison.

 

**"THERE CAN BE NO OTHERS. I HAVE MOLDED YOUR SOUL TO BE THE PERFECT WARRIOR FOR ME. YOU MUST FIGHT MY ELDEST SON, ALDUIN. YOU MUST WIN. AND YOU MAY BE AT PEACE YET AGAIN."**

 

Knowing there was no more to be said, she simply nodded, and felt herself returning to Nirn, to escape the dragon and face her destiny.

 

* * *

 

When Casara awoke, three things were clear- one, she was buried under a lot of rubble. Two, the restraints on her hands were gone, as she felt the magicka return to her body, and three, the dragon was still flying around. But she was Casara of Anvil, and a little setback like a gut wound and a building sized mountain of rubble would stop her.  _First things first._ She thought as she began moving the rubble through Telekinesis. When enough of it was cleared to see around her, she summoned a Dremora to begin moving the rest of the rubble off of her. As she sat up, Casara was greeted with the sight of meteors falling around her, and the dragon about to fry a wounded man with a flame. 3 words left her mouth unbidden. 

 

" ** _WULD NAH KEST"_**

 

 

And just like that, she was thrust forward with the force of a thousand horses and ended up slamming into the dragon-she assumed Alduin-and stunned him. If it was to have have a face at all, she was certain it would have a look of shock. Of course she didn't , whatever that was drained all the life out of her. She worked her hands to ready a quick burst of healing for the man. As he got up, he realized the danger he was in and ran towards Hadvar and his boy. Unfortunately, in her admiration of her hard work, she failed to remember the giant lizard to her left, until it sucked in a breath and bathed her in a torrent of flame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I rush near the end there. I was getting really exited to write what was next. However, most people (myself included) feel most Skyrim fics benefit from an Unbound chapter to set their Dragonborns up. But I feel like it leads into my next chapter well.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Until next,
> 
> Arriverderchi


	3. Dawnguard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating Alduin, the Stormcloaks, and the Imperial army, Casara has spent the last 5 years of her life trying to help Skyrim be as much of a thorn in the Dominion's side as possible. But soon, she'll face threats greater than any of those from within her own borders.

 

* * *

 

 

Casara was looking over her giant map of Skyrim, and felt arms wrap around her waist. "You spend so much time hunched over like that, you'll be mistaken for someone older than the Greybeards." Lydia said with a smirk on her face. Casara turned around, and with her best old woman old woman voice, she croons

 

"Do you you whippersnappers know what Skyrim used to be like? Back in my day, we didn't have the nexus to go between cities! We had to WALK! And frost trolls were EVERYWHERE! And don't get me started on the dragons!" She couldn't continue, her laughter forcing her to sit down. As Lydia sat beside her, she got serious again. "But seriously, Hammerfell said that, provided I could provide food and shelter, they'd be happy to send us all the troops we could ever ask for for the fight against the Dominion. It'll take 3 months for them to arrive, and according to the information Hadvar and Faralda gave us, we have less than 6 before the Empire and the Dominion arrive on the doorstep." She points to their location on the map. "Here in Winterhold would be best tactically, because the center of the nexus is here, we could have them anywhere in less than a day. However, they Redguard troops won't be accustomed to the freezing temperatures. Morthal has the warmest climate, but the other cities' nexus are smaller, so it'll take longer for them to get through. Plus, the peace that we have with the Reachmen would be destroyed, and we don't need that." Lydia hummed in acknowledgement, and joined her looking at the map. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, a very obvious idea forming in her amber eyes.

 

"What about Whiterun? The wide open fields will be more than enough to house any number of troops, and they'll be in a vital location should any surprise attacks happen. It's perfect. Balgruuf still owes you for keeping him as Jarl. He can house all of them, and our coffers are more than stocked enough to pay for food." Lydia beamed, knowing they will need to go back to her hometown. "Let's go write the formal proposal, and we'll see him first thing in the morning, ok?" 

 

And with that, they set to work, and all the while, the Altmer was thinking of her life since the Alduin's attack on Helgen. The wounds that she received that day were severe, but she pulled through, and now her scars were hardly noticeable. However, they were far from that when her adventuring was in it's prime. When she saw Ralof and Hadvar outside the cave, both looked mortified at the scars on her face, as though someone replaced her left side with golden leather. However, it came with one upside - It gave her a reputation. Soon, most bandits and other ne'er-do-wells would run at the sight of "Casara the Scarred". Of course, she knew that you can't eliminate the truly dug in groups, so she opted to lead them in the benefit of Her new home. The first was the Dark Brotherhood. That was easy when Astrid betrayed them, leaving only herself, Nazir, Babette, and Cicero (she liked the little psycho, and knew his madness wouldn't harm anyone she didn't want him to). Her new Brotherhood focused on attacking the Empire, with herself putting coin on the jobs. Soon, the Brotherhood's reputation was higher than it had ever been, and she even hired Brynjolf to steal the Grey Cowl for them, to help spread fear and new recruitment options. However, she still had dragons to fight, so she gave control over to Nazir, after swearing a million times to Cicero that she'd come back as soon as she heard the Night Mother's voice.

 

The Thieve's Guild was in a similar situation. Flagging membership, until she took over as the new guild head, and boom - they amassed so much power and wealth that Maven Black-Briar couldn't keep them under her thumb. Casara paid for a new headquarters in High Rock, and have them focusing in on the Dominion, stealing everything worth anything and sending them to her to give them their cuts. The most interesting part was the Skeleton Key that she was given, which she kept until making her own unbreakable lockpicks from dragon bones. However, just as with the Dark Brotherhood, she gave up control, as she didn't want to be forced into staying in one spot, so she gave the leading role to her closest thing to a friend in the guild, Brynjolf

 

The Companions were interesting for 2 reasons, one was because she could smell that the bigger members of the group- Skjor, Aela, Vilkas, Farkas, and their leader Kodlak- were all Lycans. Two was that that was the guild she was working with when she and Lydia started adventuring together. Of course, climbing the ranks was easy until she got the offer to join the Circle and was almost forced into lycanthropy. It took all of her significant charisma to convince them all to let her join without being turned, but it worked. After becoming the Harbinger, she decided that the best thing to was to give the title to the twins, Vilkas and Farkas. However, Lydia stayed by her side.

 

The final guild, and the only one where she not only kept control of but overhauled was The College of Winterhold. After sealing the Eye of Magnus and killing Arcano, she decided that the Eye could help the people of Skyrim, and, after becoming Arch-Mage, set upon the task of creating the Arcane Nexus, a revolutionary new system to provide quick traversal between all the holds. The portal's all go to and from land and houses she bought in the holds to the Hall of the Elements. After that, all it took was a small fee of 20 for the Nexus's use, and suddenly, Winterhold was booming, and gaining it's past glory back. Soon, it will rival Solitude and Windhelm, and even now, just 2 short years after it's introduction, it was as large and populated at Whiterun, and it's only growing. Of course, this explosive growth also applies to the College itself. 

 

Faralda and Colette worked together to create a spell that worked in the same way as a vampire's drain spell, but for magicka and drained the user's stamina instead, so that normal footsolders can counter hostile spellcasters. Casara and Sergius studied how enchanted clothing and jewelry didn't need to be recharged, and found how to give that property to weapons, so now the armies of Skyrim no longer need to refill their weapons, Drevis is teaching officers how to wipe their own minds so as to not be affected by torture, J'zargo is working on making scrolls simpler to use, and Mirabelle is advertising being a battlemage around Skyrim.

 

Suddenly,Tolfdir and Urag gro-Shub entered the room, shaking Casara and Lydia from the stupor that writing puts them in. "Ma'am, Jarls wish to speak with you. They said it is about the moot." With a sigh, Casara looks at her 2 allies. "Tell them to wait in the Hall of the Magistrate. We haven't gotten a chance to use it since we built it." "Right away." "Of course, Arch Mage." And Tolfdir and Urag left, leaving the room to just Casara and her wife. As the door closes, Casara sighed and looked down, dropping the regal act all Altmer seemed to know instinctively. "Lydia, did I make the right choice, fighting both the Stormcloaks and the Imperials?"

 

 

* * *

 

 

"Well, you've asked this question more times than I dare to count, so I'll take a different approach, oh  _confident_ one." Lydia said with sarcasm. Casara can't help but think back to when she first gave 30 dragon bones to Lydia to hold, and her only response was to sarcastically- yet sounding in quite a bit of pain- say " _I am sworn to carry your burdens."_ Right then, she almost felt sorry enough to take them all back, despite the fact she could hardly move with them in her pack. And of course, she was daydreaming about the past instead of actually moving, so she shook herself out of it and went back to getting ready for the Moot. "You know why I did it. I fought the Empire because it's wrong to just wipe out a god because you don't like it. And no one should die to protect where they pray. And the Stormcloaks were a bit..... overzealous in their 'Skyrim is for the Nords' bull. So I created a third option, and rolled with it. I remember how it was just you, me and the Whiterun guards defending against the Stormcloaks, and how, in the we both led entire battalions to commit to simultaneous attacks on both Windhelm and Solitude."

 

"Exactly. You made a better call than anyone could have. We can ALL live in peace now, not just the Nords, or those who don't worship only the Eight. So stop doubting your old decisions and make a new one- who do we cast our vote to?" Lydia said with a smirk.

 

"Well, Ulfric and Elisif are out. Idgrod and Skald seem to be a bit too old. i don't want another Moot a year from now. Igmund and his Hold are too close to the Empire and Stormcloaks respectively to be effective. Siddgeir would simply have his advisers run the country while he does 9 knows what, and we need a strong leader, not some _milk drinker_. And from my time with the Thieve's guild, I know personally that Laila only sees the good in people, even if they're as rotten as they come. And I can't give my vote to Korir for... obvious reasons." She can  _STILL_  hear the racist tirades he would go on about the mer, and how they were why the Hold used to be so small. Of course, he was plenty agreeable when she was paying his taxes, and he does take care of his human citizens well enough. But that wouldn't make up for the damage he'd do in power. "That only leaves Balgruuf. What do you think,  _Housecarl?"_ Is that a good choice?" She asked, smirking. But before Lydia could respond, a voice caught her attention. 

 

"You have put us in quite a difficult spot, elf." Ulfric said with an odd monotony in his deep voice, with Elisif standing beside him, her hands behind her back. "You've upset our masters, and you need to pay."

 

And as Elisif pulled out 2 crossbows, Ulfric sucked in a breath to unleash his voice, Casara used one word of Become Etherial, allowing her body to float between Nirn and Aetherius for but a moment, to allow the Unrelenting Force and bolt to pass harmlessly through her as she chose the spells to use- in her right, a simple paralysis spell for Elisif, and in the left is a new spell she was working on, one that sent out fire and frost at once, causing a massive burst of pressure, knocking back the target. She heard a crack, and saw a flicker of movement around the corner as she felt her body become corporeal, and let lose both spells at once. As Elisif lay there unmoving, Casara rushed down Ulfric, and drove her fist into the staggered Nord's face, stunning him. She felt her strength return, so she let lose another Shout, this one to slow time to almost a standstill. During this time, she took out some rope and her handkerchief to bound and gag the man, and took the Imperial's crossbows. And as she turns around to check on her wife, the world goes from slow to completely stopped. Lydia had one of Elisif's bolts in her arm, and the other in her neck, and Ulfric's shout had her back slam into the corner of one of the pools, bending her back almost 180 degrees. Even without her considerable medical knowledge she got from the Midden, she knew her wife wasn't surviving this. It was so fast. One moment, her entire world was beside her, and next, she was gone. Lost to her. And the worst part was that it wasn't like the books she read as a girl. The hero doesn't get to hear her dying lover's final words. She doesn't get to hold her hand as she passes. She doesn't get to do any of those things. Just hold a body. Another slab of meat. She heard yelling and movement as someone was slowly moving her back to the Arch-Mages quarters. After 9 knows how long mourning, she fell into a shallow slumber.

Until a presence began moving her mind away from her body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm liking how this is turning out so far, but if you have any tips or ideas on where to go next (I'm freeballing it atm), pleasepleaseplease take the time to tell me. I'll be sure to acknowledge it.
> 
>  
> 
> Until next time,  
> Arriverderchi


End file.
